This must be underwater love: Rebecca Hosking shares photos of marine life from her archives

Of the 360 million people who have been sucked into the Facebook vortex, it would be fair to assume that a majority are part of their respective community noticeboard groups.

While storms in a teacup have a knack for shaking the platform beyond its control measures, Fairhaven photographer Rebecca Hosking hopes to shift focus by sharing content for Facebook users who are more interested in nourishing the mind and less interested in fronting a cyber battle armed with a keyboard.

Waratah anemone: according to Climate Watch, at low-tide or when disturbed, the tentacles of an anemone retract which makes it appear like a round blob of jelly.

At present, the ‘Surfcoast Community Notice Board’ has a growing membership in excess of 12,000 people. Rebecca, who considers herself one of Facebook’s quieter disciples, has begun sharing captivating photos of local marine life from her personal archives every Monday.

Each photo is accompanied by a description of the aquatic creature – its features, functions and idiosyncrasies.

Tagged “Marine Monday”, the idea came about after Rebecca realised the engagement on Yestin Griffiths’ “Fossil Friday” posts.

“I was totally inspired. I love learning and to see something that was educational, interesting and local… I was really quite moved by it,” she said.

“I don’t spend a great deal of time on social media, but to see a post that was interesting and not politically aligned; it made me feel connected to that post.

“It’s (Marine Monday) a bit of a community service. It’s about returning the favour and creating posts about the world we surround ourselves in; what many of us find really enjoyable.”

According to the Australian Museum, all violet snail (pictured here) offspring begin life as a male and later transform into females.

Having worked in the area for nearly a decade, Rebecca has spent a great deal of time meeting local experts across a range of highly regarded professions.

To create her posts, she sifts through her small library of textbooks as well as notes she’s made about local marine life over the course of her career.

She said she has collections of data, information, dates and weather patterns which collectively help her achieve accuracy. They also come in handy when she’s out in the field capturing mammals.

“What I love to do with photography is have that as a really effective way of communicating,” Rebecca said.

“I’d like to inspire people to enjoy the smaller things in life, as well as the smaller detailers and complexities (of mammals).”

Rebecca’s biggest passion involves marrying science with art.

“I like to bring both together. There’s kind of a missing bridge in our learning, and I like to connect people with nature,” she said.

“That’s probably what I enjoy also with the marine world and nature world.”

A self-proclaimed lover of Mother Earth, Rebecca is mindful of treating the environment with care and respect.

“I think it’s really important to have. There’s no point going out in the science field to destroy things along the way, even if it’s for learning or education,” she said.

“There’s been a few occasions where I’ve had to think ‘what’s more important, the photograph or the environment?”.

She said she’s always chosen the latter, even if her subject matter is a “little snail”.